


Past and Present

by Trobadora



Category: She-Ra: Princess Of Power
Genre: Gen, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-07
Updated: 2011-01-07
Packaged: 2017-10-14 12:46:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/149370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trobadora/pseuds/Trobadora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>This is why she can never tell.</i> - A character vignette.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Past and Present

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silly_cleo](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=silly_cleo).



She-Ra doesn't make her good-byes; she just vanishes into the skies in the same way she'd appeared, Swift Wind carrying her away. When Adora returns from her errand, no one asks where she's been or why she's once again missed all the excitement.

Later, at the campfire, Adora will sit with her friends and listen to tales of the heroine who saved them yet again. She will see bright excitement in Glimmer's eyes, wide-eyed admiration in many others'. There will be a sort of motherly pride on Madame Razz's face, and a far more personal kind of fascination on Bow's. And she will say absolutely nothing.

She will wish, once again, that she could share this with her friends. She has had her fill of secrecy and mystery, enough to last her several lifetimes. She wants to be herself, all herself. But she cannot.

She cannot: She is, after all, Adora. On Eternia she might be a princess; here, she is, was, will have been Force Captain Adora, one of Hordak's most trusted. She is welcomed in the rebellion's numbers; she is trusted as their leader. She has many friends. But no one will ever forget who and what she was. Nor should they. Adora herself cannot forget, after all.

She is human, vulnerable. Shadow Weaver controlled her for a very long time. She never thought to question, never would have broken free without the sword's magic. It's not that she didn't know what Hordak was doing; it's that she never understood its full impact. Hordak told her it was necessary; therefore it was. She accepted, unquestioning, undisturbed.

Until Adam arrived and brought her the sword. Until she saw, for the first time, reality as it was. Hordak as he was. Her life as it was.

Her friends know, and forgive. It's not her fault.

She became Adora, leader of the Great Rebellion. She makes use of the skills she learnt at Hordak's side, uses them to thwart him again and again. She became She-Ra, symbol and myth. She shatters metal with fists and boots, splits energy beams with her sword. She never, _never_ allows herself to be controlled, by anyone or anything.

She has fought Shadow Weaver many times since, has fought all kinds of magic seeking to control her. She knows it _can_ be fought. But she never resisted the spell, before the sword. That will always remain on her.

Adora may be forgiven for it, but She-Ra is so much more than that.

The rebellion needs She-Ra as a symbol and a figurehead as much and more than they need her as a saviour. Someone larger than life, someone untouchable. Someone who could never fall under Shadow Weaver's spell. Someone who could never be a victim.

This is why she can never tell.

Adora will not taint the heroine with a Force Captain's past.


End file.
